Apple Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro X is truly a dramatic rewrite of Apple's mature and well-developed video-editing software. It borrows some interface elements from iMovie that may disappoint seasoned professionals, and also it loses many key features that are simply an absolute necessity in the professional world, like XML export. On the other hand, those looking to upgrade from iMovie will find a lot more features in Final Cut Pro X, but there are some caveats.

Installing and downloading

Final Cut Pro X is only available via the Mac App Store. The previous Final Cut Studio came with heavy instruction manuals, which are now just help files in FCPX. We appreciate reducing paper waste, but be warned that the digital help files won't offer any images unless you are connected to the internet.

Getting started

When you first launch Final Cut Pro X, the old Final Cut loading screen is replaced by a new semitransparent load screen that let's you know this is the 10.0 iteration of the professional software. But what comes after that is nothing like the 10 previous versions of Final Cut.

You'll first notice a prominent option to Import iMovie Events right above the Import Files and Import From Camera options. If you're wondering if we skipped a step, you're wrong. According to Final Cut Pro X's help file, you don't create a project first. Instead, you import media and manage your media first. You can, however, create a project first and import later. But it just goes to show you how much Apple believes that data-based video workflows are the future of post-production.

New interface

FCPX's new interface borrows some style elements from iMovie, which will really have many editors scratching their head. But first, multiple windows have largely disappeared.

Instead of windows, like in previous versions, we now get panels. The panels have default positions, but they can fortunately be resized.

For the most part, the panel locations are generally where you want them to be, but we would have preferred more customisation options. Users can specify the Viewer or the Events panels to live on secondary monitors, but it's still no match for arranging windows to whatever your project or personal preferences are.

The Viewer

The biggest change is the new Viewer. Previous users of Final Cut Pro will wonder what happened to the Viewer and Canvas windows.

They have been combined into a single panel called the Viewer. In previous versions of Final Cut Pro, the Viewer loaded clips to edit or it let users manipulate the properties of a clip. The Canvas traditionally showed the current frame of the playhead in the Timeline. Final Cut Pro X now combines both the viewer and canvas into one panel simply called the Viewer.

Simpler is better though, right? Actually, we're not so sure.

Final Cut Pro 7 used the decades-old convention of Source and Record editing (which Apple, of course, had to refer differently as the Viewer and Canvas). It traces back to the day of linear editing, when a producer or editor would load up one clip from a video deck, mark the start and stop and then record on to a second tape.

Old as it might be, the source/record convention is blazingly fast. Watching a professional editor is like watching a pianist. Loading clips, scrubbing through to find the perfect clip, marking an in point and an out point, then laying on the timeline could be accomplished without touching the mouse at all. For Apple, it's a difference of philosophy.

Creating a new project

Starting a new project feels a bit strange because the program does little to explain new concepts like Events. Events are Apple's new way of describing media libraries. An event contains the actual media files of your project, as well as metadata information.

When you create a new project, there are no options like resolution or codec until you select custom. By default, the app will pick a resolution and frame rate based on the first clip you use.

You can select custom options, which will support most of the standard resolutions: 1080i, 1080p, 720p, NTSC, PAL, 2K and 4K. The Other options curiously do not let you set custom resolutions. Instead, you're limited to 640x480 pixels and 960x540 pixels. Apple says that you can use Compressor to scale and resize your videos.

Frame rates are also limited to standard NTSC, PAL and film rates of 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 and 60 frames per second. Again, if you have to work in a non-standard frame rate, you're out of luck. As a sign from the future of where Apple wants to take video editing, FCPX supports 4K resolutions at 60 progressive frames per second.

Importing media

Final Cut Pro X has support for natively importing AVC-Intra, AVCHD (including AVCCAM, AVCHD Lite and NXCAM), all standard versions of DV (including DVCAM, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50 and DVCPRO HD), H.264, HDV, iFrame, Motion JPEG, MPEG IMX (D-10) and standard XDCAM HD/EX/HD422. Additionally, the program can import codecs supported by QuickTime.  AVI to FCP

Gone are the Log & Capture and Log & Transfer options. Instead, we just get options for importing media files and importing files from a camera. The new Final Cut Pro X really embraces a file-based workflow.

The closest option might be the Import From Camera. This is not the same as Log & Transfer. It's sort of an attempt at combing capture from tape and capture from memory card sources. The new import interface does support FireWire and can read mounted memory cards, as well as control playback options using the classic JKL (rewind-pause-play) keys.

It doesn't support importing certain types of files. For XDCAM users, Apple recommends installing Sony's own transfer and transcoding utility. HDV is still supported, but oddly only over tape on FireWire. You'll have to wait for HDV import from MXF files. Nor does FCPX support the ultra-high-quality Red RAW natively. For now, you can either set up your RED camera to record QuickTime movie files, which FCPX can import natively, or you can use Red's own free conversion program to convert into Apple's native ProRes format. Apple says it is working with companies like Sony and Red to create plug-ins that will allow FCPX to be a one-stop-shop for importing video.

 MTS to Final Cut Pro enables users to convert any HD camcorder 1080i AVCHD (*.mts, *.m2ts), 1080 60p/50p, 720p AVCHD lite files to the supported DV, HDV, MP4, MOV formats for importing and editing with Final Cut Express on your Mac.

Apple Releases OS X Lion Gold Master

Hold onto your hats, Apple enthusiasts: The latest iteration of your OS X operating system could be beating down your digital door within days.

According to various news reports, Apple has released the gold master of OS X Lion to developers, suggesting that we're but a few days away from the official release of OS X 10.7. Apple hasn't provided an official release date for the operating system update, except to say that it was scheduled to arrive sometime during July.

Don't plan on camping out on local Apple stores in an attempt to be one of the first to get your hands on the new software: There's no need. Lion marks the first operating system that Apple will be releasing as a digital download via the Mac App Store—which also means that the company should be able to significantly shorten its typical two week waiting period between releasing an OS gold master and seeing a tangible product on store shelves.

Users will only have to pony up $29.99 to upgrade from Snow Leopard–OS X 10.6–to Lion via digital download. However, you'll want to make sure that you've installed all of the Apple-specific updates released over the past month before Lion hits the Mac App Store. Version 10.6.8 of the operating system contains tweaks that enable the digital download and upgrade process, a must-have in order for the upgrade to function correctly.

We've covered the various features of OS X Lion pretty extensively, so here's the short list of what users can expect to see come Lion Launch Day: an automatic restoration feature that allows users to resume their apps exactly as they left them after quitting or shutting down the system, a brand-new "reboot into Safari" mode that turns one's system into a simple Web-browser-only kiosk of-sorts, and a comprehensive autosave feature that keeps your data safe (and version-tracked) analogous to a Google Docs file.

It remains to be seen just how Apple's hardware is going to shift around once the Lion is let loose into the wild. Rumors have suggested that Apple's been waiting for its operating system's official release before unveiling souped-up hardware, including a new Thunderbolt- and Sandy Bridge-enhanced refresh of the company's MacBook Air, that would come with the new operating system preinstalled.

AVI to Final Cut Pro can help you convert AVI files (including Divx and Xvid encoded) into MP4, MOV, DV, HDV, MPEG-4 etc for importing to Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express on Mac ox s.(10.4-10.6).

With MTS to Final Cut Pro, you can convert any HD camcorder 1080i AVCHD (*.mts, *.m2ts), 1080 60p/50p, 720p AVCHD lite files to the supported DV, HDV, MP4, MOV formats for importing and editing with Final Cut Express on your Mac.

YouTube Commercial Kings Rhett and Link Talk New TV Show

Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings, a new television show premiering tonight on IFC, plots two best friends as they journey across the United States to understand the country—via advertising.

Rhett & Link won’t be a hyper-intellectual attempt to analyze our highest aspirations and deepest desires as a nation, as most media depictions of glamorous advertising do—from the Hucksters and What Women Want to Mad Men. Quite the opposite. We talk to the men behind the show below.

Rhett McLaughlin (left) and Link Neal (right) have one of the most subscribed-to channels on YouTube, where they show their clever commercials, each a viral hit in its own right. Although every ad boasts a different look, the pair deploy the same questionable production values, haphazardly written jingles, and guest appearances to make a hilarious final product. The IFC show documents the creation and production for each of these entertaining, more-rough-than-diamond, gems.

TOH: When did you develop a love for local advertisements?
Link: From the moment I started watching TV, I was developing a love for local commercials. When you see a guy trying to sell you used cars wearing a chicken suit, even if you’re not in the market to buy a car, even if you’re seven years old, you remember that. 

Rhett: One of things always grabbed our attention is the ‘unintentional funny.’  I don’t think every producer or business owner thinks it’s going to be really funny…

TOH: You started building your fan base on YouTube years ago.  Was expanding your channel into a television show part of the plan?
Rhett: Not really, but it’s something that you’re going to see more and more.  Anybody who wants to be in entertainment is going to be uploading stuff and if they’re good they’re going to build a following.

TOH: How will you use your YouTube fame to command a TV audience?
Rhett:  These crazy local commercials went viral. They make great stand-alone video. But then people start asking questions, like—is that real?  They want to see us interact with Rudy [the Cuban gynecologist-turned-American used-car salesman]. The commercial is candy; the TV show is a full course meal. You see the final product on the Internet, you can see the process on the show.

TOH: What has been your favorite commercial so far?
Link: Presidential carwash, with this great couple from India. They are committed to being the best carwash in town. This meant dressing them up as Presidents and having them rap. 

Rhett: My favorite is for Fountain of Health in Florida, which offers colatics. This stuff doesn’t sell itself. Often for local commercials, there will be a celebrity endorsement and we have a Grammy-award-winning musician famous for his 80s love songs, who will be making a cameo and [helped us] write the jingle.

TOH: How do you go about turning local business owners into Internet celebrities?
Link: With the owners of Presidential carwash, the owner said ‘why don’t you hire some actors or rappers.’  I said, ‘First of all – we don’t have a budget, but more importantly, we want people to see you and your wife starring in your own commercial.’  They are winsome. We want people to say, ‘I want to meet these people.’

Rhett: And what happens time after time a commercial goes up here, everyone who is local says, ‘I have to go to this carwash.’ Person after person in YouTube comments says, ‘I’m getting my car washed there,’ or ‘if I lived in America I would go here,’ or ‘I will drive across the country to go there.’

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